Fleeting Love
by Inyx Dawn
Summary: I love you. From now until forever, and from forever onward until the end of time. Sometimes, love really is fleeting.


**Disclaimer:**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** I love you. From now until forever, and from forever onward until the end of time. Sometimes, love really is fleeting.

* * *

Harry laughed as Cedric's fingers danced across his sides, his body trapping the younger man's between himself and the counter.

"Cedric! S-stop!" Harry giggled out.

Said man's smile widened into a grin as he stilled his hands. But before Harry could catch his breath, Cedric wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him into a chaste kiss.

Harry sighed happily, and ran his fingers through his lover's golden brown hair.

As they parted, verdant eyes gazed intensely into glittering gray.

Cedric smiled and closed his eyes, leaning down until his head rested gently on Harry's shoulder. "I love you, Harry," he whispered delicately into his ear.

The younger man shivered as his lover's hot breath hit his ear. "I love you too, Cedric. From now until forever."

Cedric nuzzled into his neck. "And from forever onward until the end of time."

* * *

Harry hummed silently as he took the turkey out of the oven and set it onto the kitchen table. Harry smiled down at it while carefully placing cooked pineapple slices around the edges of the platter. He clapped his hands as he finished, and went to hang up his apron.

He set the table for two, checking the clock repeatedly. Cedric would be home in ten minutes, and Harry wanted their first Christmas Eve together to go perfectly.

Precisely at six o'clock, Cedric walked through the front door, his face hidden by various boxes and bags. Harry snickered and went to help his poor boyfriend.

As they placed all of the presents underneath the tree, Cedric grabbed onto Harry's hand. Confused, the young man looked up at him. "What's wrong?" he asked, staring into intense, warm eyes.

Suddenly, the older man smiled and pulled his lover toward him. Harry closed his eyes as he felt a pair of soft lips kissing his eyelids, his nose, his forehead, his cheeks, and, finally, settling rightly onto his own pink petals.

And as they parted, Cedric buried his head into Harry's shoulder, whispering, "I love you, Harry."

Harry ran his fingers soothingly through the man's silken hair, smiling contently. "I love you too, Cedric. From now until forever."

"And from forever onward until the end of time."

* * *

Harry blushed as he avoided Cedric's gaze. It was Valentine's Day so Harry thought he'd make a big strawberry cake with pink and white frosting. The moment Cedric had come home, the young man raced to the door carrying the cake and wished his lover a happy Valentine's Day.

Cedric had carefully taken the cake from Harry's hands and placed it onto the living room table before taking a hold of Harry and spinning him around the room.

Once he set his radiating lover down, Cedric picked up the cake, and led Harry into the kitchen. And as he took his first bite, his eyes widened and he stared at Harry. "This is splendid, Harry!" he exclaimed.

And this was why Harry was currently blushing, not used to praise just yet.

The young man heard the scraping of a chair on the floor, and he looked up. Cedric stood before him holding out a simple heart shaped card, his left hand behind his neck smiling uncertainly.

But Harry took the letter, handling it delicately. As he read the incerpt, silent tears coursed down his cheeks.

He jumped up, the letter swaying gently onto the table, and he wrapped his arms around Cedric's neck.

_Dear Harry,_

_I love you! Just writing that puts a smile on my face. You put a smile on my face. _

_I love you because of your sweetness, your kindness, your tenderness, and your thoughtfulness._

_I love you because you are my dear friend and loving companion. You smile at my silly jokes and enjoy my youthful spirit._

_I love you because I have a longing to be close to you and you long to be close to me. I love snuggling with you in front of a fire and cuddling with you as we watch TV. I love to be near you. I love holding your hand on a walk during the day and holding your hands across the table at a restaurant at night._

_I love you because you listen to me as I share the small triumphs or struggles of the day._

_I love you because in moments of friction between us, you hear me out. Even when you don't agree with me, you listen with a longing to understand me._

_I love you because you respect me. You honor the man that I am, rather than try to make me into someone I am not. You suffer my imperfections and my shortcomings largely without complaint._

_I love you because you appreciate me. You enjoy my attentiveness and appreciate my efforts to romance you. You appreciate my generosity to yourself and my generosity toward others._

_I love you,_

_Cedric_

_P.S. I love you. From now until forever, and from forever onward until the end of time._

* * *

Cedric chuckled at his boyfriend. Harry was currently adorned with jet black pants, a lime green shirt with a huge leprechaun in the center The back said: 'Kiss me, dammit, I'm Irish!', a shamrock was tattooed onto his right cheek, and he had died his hair a temporary emerald green.

"You're not even Irish, love. So why are you wearing this getup?" Cedric asked.

Harry pouted and crossed his arms. "You don't have to be of a certain nationality to celebrate a holiday."

The older man smiled. "Alright, Harry. Would you like me to with you to this parade?"

Harry grinned and latched onto his arm, jumping up and down. "Yes please! I hear that your office building is going to have a big Irish flag hanging from it."

Cedric rolled his eyes as he led his excited lover to the car. "So I've heard. It's the World Trade Center, babe; I'm sure everyone's heard."

But Harry wasn't listening to him; he was ranting about what kind of floats and people will be there. Cedric interrupted him, though, by pushing Harry up against the side of his car. He buried his head into Harry's shoulder as his lover ran his fingers calmly through his hair.

"I love you, Harry," Cedric whispered happily.

Harry lifted the older man's hand and kissed his palm. "I love you too, Cedric. From now until forever."

Cedric kissed the side of Harry's neck. "And from forever onward until the end of time."

* * *

"Happy birthday, Harry!"

Cedric had burst through the door, carrying a small box riddled with holes and a big package. He set both on the kitchen table and kissed his dazed lover.

Cedric broke off the kiss before it got too heated, and led Harry closer to the table. He picked up the small box and placed it in Harry's hands.

The young man almost dropped it, not having expected it to be so heavy; but he managed to keep a hold of it. Curious, he lifted up the lid and gasped. He slipped a hand into the box and carried out a small black puppy.

Cedric grinned axiously. "You've been saying for a while now that you wanted a puppy so...yeah. Do you like him?"

Harry carefully held the dog underneath his arm, and pulled Cedric into a one armed hug, pushing the older man's head onto his shoulder when he heard him sigh, relieved.

"I love you, Harry," Cedric spoke softly.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut and held on tighter. "I love you too, Cedric. From now until forever."

Nimble hands rubbed gently against Harry's back. "And from forever onward until the end of time."

* * *

Cedric nervously fiddled with the small black box in his coat pocket as he made his way to work. That day was his and Harry's first anniversary, and Cedric was planning on asking Harry to be his eternal partner. Officially that is.

He sighed, and entered the elevator. 'This day is going to go by very fast,' he mentally murmured.

* * *

When Harry woke up that morning, it was to the sight of an off white letter lying innocently on Cedric's pillow.

He smiled and picked it up, carrying it into the living room so that he could read it while watching TV. He turned it on and flipped until he had the FOX news.

He nearly ran into the TV to get closer as he saw the destruction and devastation on it.

"Welcome back to FOX news," the woman said, "We have a very tragic alert for you right now. An incredible plane crash into the World Trade Center here at the lower tip of Manhattan."

"It's believed at 7:37 this morning; this is just specalation right now, that three floors have been taken out, crashed into the side of the building," a man said, "Here's Owen on the scene."

"Yeah I'm on the roof of my building about five blocks south of the World Trade Center. I'm looking right now at the World Trade Center; there's a massive gaping hole um on the second tower. It's about fifteen stories from the roof. It's just it's unbelievable to look at. There's a massive hole," Owen said, sounding confused.

"It looks like something from a movie. There's a huge hole on the side of tower number one. Owen, your apartment is just a few blocks from it, did you hear anything?"

"I was lying in bed and all of a sudden I heard what sounded like a plane or something coming extremely low and then we just heard this shattering explosion, and we went to the roof and confronted by this horror that the gaping hole - I can see the south base and there are flames and papers flying out of the windows and black flames; there are flames coming out of multiple floors."

"Did it sound like a- There is one report on one news channel here in New York City that perhaps it was a jet, perhaps at 7:37 - when you heard the noise did it sound like a prop job or a jet?"

"It - it sounded like a jet. But from where I was I couldn't tell. All I know is there was something in the air that smashed the side. If it was a jet, I just don't know."

"Listening to you right now, I can hear a lot of sirens, is that what you're hearing right now?"

"Yeah, I'm going to move to the front of my-"

_An incredible plane crash into the World Trade Center..._

"No," Harry whispered.

He ran out of the house and jumped into his car, his heart beating profoundly and his mind racing

_Cedric, Cedric, Cedric_

* * *

Arriving a few blocks away from the Towers, Harry fell out of his car and ran toward the building. Sirens were filling his ears with mindless buzzing, but all he could think of, all he could see was -

_Cedric!_

Harry gasped as he took in the sight of the tower. There was indeed a huge hole with black smoke fuming from it and around the top of the tower. But looking to the side, Harry could see another whole where the plane flew out of.

One of his hands flew to his mouth as he choked on a sob. Tears fell from his eyes.

_No, not Cedric!_

He walked limply, hardly able to move with the cries that were racking his body as he imagined his lover trapped in the building.

More debris fell from the sky, crashing around the tower making Harry's heart tighten even more.

_Cedric, Cedric, Cedric..._

Ten of the floors seemed to be demolished, and all Harry could think of was that by the time the plane crashed, Cedric would be in the elevator.

_Trapped...no..._

"Oh my God!" someone screamed.

"What's going on?" someone else yelled.

Voices were crying out in curiosity and devastation.

_Cedric_

Another plane zoomed overhead and rammed into the second tower causing a massive explosion.

Harry fell to the ground, screaming. "CEDRIC!"

There were panicked voices everywhere, circling around the young man and making his lungs tighten and his eyes sting. His heart seemed frozen and it was beating so fast, the blood was bounding in his ears.

_Cedric!_

Above, a portion of the first tower was coming apart, a terrible screeching sound reverberated around the area as great clouds of yellow smoke smothered the streets.

Harry got up and ran, sobbing hysterically.

Screams echoed around him as he heard another crash. The second tower had collapsed.

_Cedric!_

"Oh my God, Cedric, no!" he cried out, tumbling to the pavement.

He curled into a ball, silently watching other people run away from the destroyed World Trade Center.

_I love you, Harry..._

"I love you too, Cedric. From now until forever," he whispered among the panic, his eyes sliding shut.

_And from forever onward until the end of time..._

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_You don't know how much I love you. We've been together for only a year now, but it feels like so much longer. I don't particularly know why I'm writing this, but I don't think, when the moment comes, that I will be able to get the words out. _

_You are my heart, my soul, my life, my air, my everything. So, will you, Harry James Potter, marry me? So that we can be together from forever and onward until the end of time._

_With all my hope and love,_

_Cedric_

* * *

**© 2008 Inyx Dawn**


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